Horror Movie Round Up: Devil Worship and Psychic Detectives

House Of The Devil (2009)

The lovely Jocelin Donahue stars as a babysitter who bites off more than she can chew in this 80’s set horror. As a teen who desperately needs cash, the film starts with a slow burn and vintage stylings, building slowly to her going to work on the night of an eclipse in a house in the middle of nowhere. But something in the house is very very wrong… Each performance is really good, and I think this is one of the better horrors that I’ve seen lately, relying on tension to ratchet up the scares, rather than gore or jump scares (though it has a bit of that too). Good fun.

Solace (2015)

A bigger budget horror/thriller, this film stars Anthony Hopkins as a psychic with a damaging past, who works with the police to catch a serial killer threatening the city. But this killer may just have the same skillset as Hopkins, has he finally met a man that he can’t stop? The film is stylish and slick, often looking more like a car ad than a supernatural mystery, especially in the flashes into what the psychic sees which use symbolism and special effects in urban environments. But on the whole, it works and poses some interesting questions about light and dark, right and wrong, life and death. Pretty good watch.

Abattoir (2016)

An OK horror, this one is about an ace “real estate reporter” (is that a real job?) and her cop sort-of boyfriend who go back into her past to find answers when her sister is murdered, and a they discover that someone is buying up and removing rooms that where murders were committed. The plot gets a whole lot knottier, and is such a great premise, with some wonderful mise-en-scene and sets, but is let down somewhat by overacting and direlogue. All in all, rather fun though.

Lights Out (2016)

Based on a creepy short film you can find on You Tube (click HERE), this film is about a creature that lurks in the dark. Like something you see out of the corner of your eye, but turns out to be nothing when you switch on the light, this film is stalked by a creature that can only exist in the dark. It’s a great premise for a film, and one of the best horrors I’ve seen this year, with solid performances and plot all round, and some good scares. Perhaps they could have done a little bit more with it, but it’s definitely a fun horror. And the big bad is really creepy!

The Unspoken (2015)

A girl, desperate to earn some cash to help her father, accepts a job caring for the mute son of a single mother who has moved into a local home. But the house is the site of a strange disappearance of an entire family 17 years before, a crime that was never solved. And soon, some very strange, very bad things start to happen… It’s a fun film, with a good twist in it’s tail,  some good creepy scares, but suffers a little from one too many needless subplots. Enjoyable.